A-Z Bus Sales, Inc., this week announced the acquisition of Blue Star Bus Sales, a Blue Bird dealership in West Texas.

"We are extremely excited about this stragetic acquisition and to welcome the Blue Star employees to the employee-owned A-Z Bus Sales family," said John Landherr, a former Texas and CEO and president of A-Z Bus Sales. "Blue Star is a great fit for us in every way, with similar core values and customer-service excellence philosophies, as well as talented employees who know the industry. I am thrilled to head back to my roots and support the thriving Texas market."

A-Z Bus Sales already has locations in California and Hawaii. Blue Star is expected to continue serving West Texas customers under the same name, at the same location, selling Blue Bird and Micro Bird by Girardin buses with diesel, propane, CNG, and electric powertrains. A-Z plans to leverage six years of experience selling and supporting electric-powered buses.

“Blue Star, under the tremendous foresight and leadership of Wayne Dever, has spent 25 years building a reputation for excellence in West Texas. We are thrilled to combine forces with a company as strong as A-Z Bus that shares our culture and values,” added Carolyn Degenhart, CEO, and founder of Blue Star. “John Landherr and his team understand the Texas market and will allow Blue Star to continue serving the Texas student transportation market with excellence.”

Along with the transaction, the following appointments were announced:

• Brandon Bluhm is now vice president of sales for Blue Star, supporting Blue Star veteran Wayne Dever, who will remain on staff as sales director.

• Pete Tuckerman was hired as director of school bus sales for A-Z Bus, reporting to Brandon Bluhm.

“There is tremendous synergy between the two companies, and we fully support this transaction,” said Matt Stevenson, CEO, and president of Blue Bird Corporation. “We thank Carolyn for her 25 years of dedication as a Blue Bird dealer. A-Z Bus’s proven team and EV expertise will strongly complement the Blue Star name and reputation.”